


The Names Are As Bad As They Smell

by itsOzzie



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 10:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20226187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsOzzie/pseuds/itsOzzie
Summary: Emma hated Yankee Candle.Or any of those stores with scented products.She was allergic to something that made the scents pop, actually.But she was gonna endure it, for love.





	The Names Are As Bad As They Smell

Emma hated Yankee Candle. Or any of those stores with scented products. She was allergic to something that made the scents pop, actually. It took her 10 years to officially get answers on that.

Her scented body wash always left her whole body red.

In first grade, she had a teacher who lit a scented candle every day, and it would make her eyes water even from the back of the classroom. Her dad asked why her eyes were always red, but she honestly didn't know.

Her mom took her into the Yankee Candle at the only mall in town when she was 9, and as soon as she walked in, she felt her eyes getting familiarly watery. This turned into cold-like symptoms by the time they were done shopping for her grandma's birthday gift. Neither her mom or dad seemed to notice her slight cough that didn't go away until hours later.

She had just turned 10 at this one particular visit to her grandma's house. Betsy Nolan had the scented candle she got for her birthday lit, and she was cooking dinner when she swore she could hear strangled breathing-- as if someone were choking. The elderly woman rushed upstairs, following the sound of the violent hacking to find her granddaughter slumped over on a chair in the same room as the candle. Her Nintendo DS was long forgotten as the blonde-haired girl struggled for air. This earned a horrified scream from Betsy.

"Emma?! I don't think you would be joking, but please say you are!" The older woman sunk to her knees as there was no response, but she knew Emma wasn't choking because she _was_ coughing violently. Betsy just watched in utter terror for a brief moment.

Then she whipped around, frantically preparing to call Emma's parents. The sudden, swift movement was enough to extinguish the nearby candle. Then there was a slight whimper from Emma in between wheezes as her shoulders shook.

"Everythin'...blurry..."

"Holy shit," Betsy cried out, enveloping Emma in a gentle hug. "And do _not_ tell your mother I said that."

Emma nodded, mumbling weakly about how scented candles always made her feel sick. That one quickly got wrapped in plastic bags and thrown out.

But now she was 17, and her girlfriend wanted to go binge-shopping to celebrate graduation, which was fine until she was dragged into Yankee Candle. As she walked in, her eyes were already watering.

She sighed. “Do we really have to go in here?”

“Emma,” Alyssa spoke with the air of laughter in her voice. “If there’s one thing I have in common with mom, it’s that I love scented candles.”

And so it began. Emma was dragged down an aisle, and Alyssa was already stopping to smell multiple candles. The scents drifted around Emma’s whole being as she moved them, and it made a dull ache appear in her head. She sniffled quietly, holding back a cough and eyeing the clock wearily. Pretty soon her nose stopped working. Either it was the candles, or the clear colored snot that her nose had to eject.

Alyssa was showing off another candle with some stupid name like ‘Kilimanjaro Sky’ when Emma sneezed. Multiple times in a row.

“Are you okay?” Alyssa asked as Emma rubbed her eyes.

Emma had to suck in a breath just to get out the words “I’m fine.”

She really wasn’t. Her whole chest ached from trying to breathe by now. This visit was a _lot_ longer than the previous, and her lungs felt like they were constricting. Collapsing in on themselves. But she couldn’t just say that. She didn’t have the heart to disappoint her girlfriend.

“Alright...” Alyssa’s voice drifted off before she asked “What do you think of this one? I might buy it.”

‘And I might choke,’ Emma wanted to say, but she decided on a nicer approach. 

“Oh, uh—“ She cut herself off in a wheezing fit. “I... dunno.” With that, she continued coughing.

“Okay, I get it, you don’t like that one,” Alyssa said. “You can stop now.”

Emma shook her head a little, suddenly feeling like she was going to fall.

“Can’t...breathe...” she moaned between coughs, as mad at herself as she was. Her knees nearly buckled and she watched in terror as her girlfriend looked at her with the same fear, only for Emma, Alyssa suddenly was out-of focus. Tears streamed down Emma’s cheeks.

“I gotta...get out—“ Emma choked out as spots started appearing in her vision.

Then she was being hoisted over Alyssa’s shoulder.

The next thing she remembered, she was in the back of her own pickup, with Alyssa driving. Alyssa immediately seemed to notice her come to. 

“Oh, thank God, you’re okay! How are you feeling?”

“Crap,” Emma said. It was the only word her half-awake brain could come up with. Her head was throbbing and her throat felt raw, making the one word come out gruff. Her chest still ached.

“What exactly happened?” Alyssa asked quietly.

“Allergies...” Emma mumbled with a slight cough. Although it wasn’t exactly an explanation, it was enough of a lead.

“To candles?”

“No...to scented stuff...” 

“How did I not know?” Alyssa asked.

“Well, I guess it never came up...nothing at my gran’s has been scented since there was a similar episode when I was 10. And obviously, school’s not fancy enough. I just avoid the hand sanitizer...and soap...and I’m fine.”

“...Oh. _Oh_.” Something seemed to click in Alyssa’s head. “Is that why you were sneezing like a maniac when you came over for dinner?”

She refers to Mrs. Greene’s very recent agreement.

“I told your mom it was allergies,” Emma said. “I just didn’t say it was because of the air freshener.”

“I’m really sorry, Em. If I had known...”

“Don’t worry about it,” Emma insisted. “I should’ve said something, but I thought you’d be mad.”

“By the way,” Alyssa said, “I snagged you some coffee beans if you want a functional nose.”

Emma chuckled, “It won’t be functional for a while, but...thanks.”


End file.
